Big Green Knocks Off 'Cuse for Fourth Straight

HANOVER, N.H. - After trailing 5-3 in the first
half, the #19 Dartmouth women's lacrosse team went on 7-1 run using
stifling defense and patient offense to take a 10-7 win over #13
Syracuse today.

Dartmouth improves to 7-2 (3-0 Ivy) with its fourth straight
victory while Syracuse drops to 3-6 (1-0 Big East). Syracuse held a
26-21 shot advantage while every other category was neck-and-neck.
Dartmouth grabbed 20 ground balls to 19 for Syracuse and the Orange
had 10 draw controls to nine for the Green.

The defense was led by freshman goalie Kristen Giovanniello (Old
Brookville, N.Y.), who came into the game leading the nation in
save percentage at 53.9 percent. That number got higher today as
the rookie made 10 saves to just seven goals allowed, upping her
percentage to 54.4 along with three ground balls.

Giovanniello got the best of her counterpart, senior Liz Hogan,
the 2010 IWLCA National Goalkeeper of the Year, as did the
Dartmouth attack. Hogan finished with six saves on the day and the
Big Green was 4-of-4 on free position attempts.

Offensively, it was yet another balanced day for the Big Green,
with six different goal scorers led by three goals and five assists
from junior Sarah Plumb (Wellesley, Mass.) and three goals from
classmate Kirsten Goldberg (Cockeysville, Md.). Goldberg grabbed a
team-high four ground balls.
The teams traded goals in the early goings with Syracuse's
Catherine Rodriguez scoring twice around Dartmouth goals by Plumb,
off a perfectly-timed feed from Liz Calby (Darien, Conn.) behind
the cage and Sarah Parks (Ellicott City, Md.) from senior Kat
Collins (Darien, Conn.). The game was tied 2-2 at 22:37 before
Courtney Bennett (Darien, Conn.) scored on a free position to give
the Big Green a 3-2 lead minutes later.

The Orange stormed back with three unanswered goals from Alyssa
Murray, Michelle Tumolo and Lindsay Connell to go ahead 5-3 with
11:01 to play in the half. Dartmouth struggled to get possession in
the balance of the period but the defense played tough to keep it a
two-goal lead into halftime.

Dartmouth came out on fire in the second half, with Goldberg
quickly tying the game at 5-5 with 26:39 on the clock. Her second
goal came after she caused a turnover on the defensive end and
brought the ball into the attack. Senior Abigail Holden
(Alexandria, Va.) made sure to reward that effort by finding her in
front of the cage for the score.

The Orange would not lie down yet, as Sarah Holden converted a
free position to put her team back up, 6-5, with 25:00 on the
clock. Dartmouth was not rattled, however, and the Big Green scored
five unanswered goals from four different players to build a
steady, 10-6 lead. Plumb was in on much of that run, first
providing an assist on a Greta Meyer (Denver, Colo.) tally at
22:25.

Dartmouth then scored three straight free position goals from
Plumb, Collins and again Plumb for the 9-6 lead at 14:50. Plumb
assisted Goldberg's third tally of the day to give the Big Green
all the cushion it would need, up 10-6, with 8:29 on the clock.

Dartmouth's defense rallied throughout the final eight minutes
of the half, consistently turning the Orange over to allow the
offense to drain time off the clock. Murray got one more for
Syracuse with 1:31 to play but Collins grabbed the ensuing draw
control to allow her team to ride out the game.

Dartmouth's entire defense stifled the Orange throughout the end
of the first period, when the Big Green essentially played the last
10 minutes on defense, and in the second half. Shannie MacKenzie
(Riverside, Conn.), Hope McIntyre (Cockeysville, Md.) and Georgia
Bird (Summit, N.J.) made strong contributions on line defense along
with Kelsey Johnson (Hingham, Mass.), who tallied three ground
balls, two caused turnovers and a draw control.

The Big Green is back at Scully-Fahey Field this Saturday when
it hosts Ivy foe Cornell at 12 p.m.